Lackawanna Coalition

advocating for rail passengers since 1979

  • NJ Transit Cops Win Discrimination Suit

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    John Bobsin

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    NJ Transit has agreed to pay $5.8 million to 10 minority police officers as compensation for a string of racial insults and slurs delivered by former NJT Police chief Joseph Bober, who left NJT in 2009 after a previous discrimination lawsuit by a female lieutenant, who alleged sexual discrimination and was awarded $1.5 million in…

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  • Talking Crossing Gates to be Tested

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    John Bobsin

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    After 3 teenagers were killed by trains in 2 incidents on successive days in October 2011, NJ Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson convened a task force of experts to find ways to improve grade-crossing safety. (Two of the youths died not at a grade crossing, but while trespassing on a railroad trestle, on a line that…

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  • Study Highlights Transit-Oriented Development

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    John Bobsin

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    Once upon a time, trolley lines built amusement parks at the end of their lines to encourage ridership.  The modern-day equivalent may be the “Transit Village”: development at transit hubs, where transit users can live, work, or shop just steps from their train or bus.  A report due out on September 24 by New Jersey…

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  • NYC Transit Fare Increases Loom

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    John Bobsin

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    Increases in the New York City transit fare structure are likely by March 1, and the base fare may not be the only thing to rise.  According to reporting by Matt Flegenheimer in The New York Times (Sept. 13), parent organization Metropolitan Transportation Authority is considering reducing or eliminating the 7% bonus granted to riders…

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  • Amtrak Sets Records on NEC

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    John Bobsin

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    A decade or so ago, airlines were the dominant players in the Northeast Corridor transportation market.  However, today air travel suffers from high fares, frequent delays, and time-consuming airport security checks; meanwhile, Amtrak offers its Acela premium service, on-line ticketing, and, importantly, workstation access; the result has been to tip the market share in favor…

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  • Computer Strands JFK AirTrain Riders

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    John Bobsin

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    A computer problem left about 140 passengers stranded on the popular AirTrain serving Kennedy International Airport on Saturday evening, August 25, according to reporting by John Leland in The New York Times (Aug. 27).  Three 2-car trains were stranded, and some passengers were forced to walk almost a mile to the nearest station.  The disruption…

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  • NJT Changes Weekend Bike Rules Again

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    Donald Winship

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    New Jersey Transit has changed the rules for bicycles on weekend trains again.  The ban on bikes applies only between Secaucus and Penn Station, New York, so riders can take a bike on the train between points within New Jersey.  Riders cannot take bicycles to Penn Station on trains that leave Dover after 7:05 a.m. and before 11:05…

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  • Aging Infrastructure Blamed for NJT Delays

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    John Bobsin

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    Aging infrastructure, and the lack of cash to fix it, particularly on the Northeast Corridor, are cited as a main cause of service delays on NJ Transit, according to reporting by Karen Rouse and Dave Sheingold of The Record (reported in the Star-Ledger,  August 8).  An NEC commuter is quoted as saying that conductors frequently…

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  • NJT Relaxes Some Weekend Bicycle Restrictions, but It’s Little Help on Our Lines

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    Donald Winship

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    New Jersey Transit announced on Monday, August 6th, that it would relax some of the weekend restrictions against the use of bicycles on trains, beginning on Saturday, August 11th.  The restrictions that went into effect in July prohibited bicycles on all inbound trains that would arrive at their terminals in Newark, Hoboken, or New York…

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  • Funding Increase Coming for Northeast Corridor; Benefits Our Trains, Too

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    Donald Winship

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    The New Jersey Legislature has authorized funding for Northeast Corridor (NEC) improvements of $35.7 million for fiscal year 2013—an 81% increase over the $19.7 million originally proposed by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.  The NEC line is important for rail riders in our area, because Midtown Direct trains on the Morris & Essex, Montclair-Boonton, and Gladstone trains use…

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